Fifty Words, One Shot
by SaiyanQueenVega
Summary: Truth, Lies, Sugar, and Memory. These are only some of the words waiting to inspire a one-shot drabble in my 50 word challenge. The subject? Zim, of course. There'll be laughter and tears and a bit of insanity. So are you in? CHAPTER 8: #12 - Epiphany
1. 32 – Quit

**#32 – Quit**

Disclaimer: Nothing that anyone recognizes belongs to me. I'll claim the plots though, they're mine.  
Rated: G  
Summery: 50 one-shots. One character: Zim

* * *

"I quit"

Red and Purple stared at the communications monitor, mouths slackened, as the entire bridge's attention covertly (and is some cases not-so-covertly) turned to their flabbergasted Tallests. It took a few moments before Red eventually regained his ability to speak. "You... you what?"

"I quit."

Again, silence hung thick aboard the Massive's control bridge.

"I've discovered what the Earthenoids like to call a 'more lucrative opportunity with much better potential for... _growth_'" Zim purred at his soon to be ex-leaders. The camera was at such a close angle that it was easy to read the amusement in his magenta eyes.

Shocked purple eyes met smoldering red ones as the emperors of the mighty Irken empire struggled to process what they were hearing. On one claw it sounded as though they might be rid of the tiny menace once and for all, but on the other, they'd always envisioned this day differently. They were supposed to humiliate the little defect in front of everyone and possibly even make him cry. This almost sounded as if Zim was _winning_.

"You see," Zim continued, paying his leaders expressions little mind, "it really makes no sense to continue to toil for _your _empire when I've gotten such a strong start on one of my _own_."

"You defective little **traitor**!! I'll have you deactivated for treason against the empire!" snarled Red.

Purple's vocal cords were still not working as his mouth opened and closed several times with no sound. Where had this Zim come from? What happened to blindly loyal, stupid, easy to fool Zim?

"Ah yes, but I'd only be a traitor if my actions were in direct violation of the _current _Tallest's orders or laws." Eyes shining in victory, Zim took several steps backward. It didn't take long before the bridge crew behind the Tallests began gasping. The elongated torso and legs were a dead give way. Zim had _grown_. "So tell me Red, when was the last great measuring?"

At that point Red seemed to be almost frothing at the mouth from anger. "As if your little growth spurt could possibly make a difference. I'll have you remember that Purple and I are 186.896333 units tall!"

If Zim was at all effected by his leader's anger it didn't show. " Yes, yes, truly amazing. I have access to the data bases just the same as everyone else." He paused and seemed to buff his claws for a moment. "But I'll tell you, _my tallest, _that I happen to be 6.5 feet tall. Of course there isn't a conversion available is there? So the question is this. Do you want to take the risk that I could make your empire mine? If so, feel free to come and retrieve me for deactivation." Zim smirked before continuing. "Or, you could simply forget about me and let my co-ruler and I cultivate our empire without disruption."


	2. 35 – Kitten

**#35 - Kitten**

Disclaimer: Nothing that anyone recognizes belongs to me. I'll claim the plots though, they're mine.  
Rated: PG  
Summery: 50 one-shots. One character: Zim

* * *

Zim had been just about to leave when the human showed up. The man strode up to the bank of the river that the invader had been (carefully!) collecting samples from only moments ago with an aura of determination, never noticing the Irken behind the bushes with his claws clamped over his robot's mouth. After casting a look over both shoulders the human pulled a lumpy pillow case from beneath his windbreaker and tossed it into the water crawling by. Within moments he'd departed back the way he came.

Zim watched for a minute to be sure the human was not returning before turning back to the river. His curiosity was peaked. What had the human been so suspicious about discarding?

"Gir, retrieve whatever it is that that filthy human just disposed of."

Without a moment of hesitation the robot threw itself into the water and disappeared beneath the depths. Zim was left with just enough time to assume that apparently Gir was interested enough to obey before his minion burst forth from the water, bag in hand.

Snatching the soggy pillow case from Gir, Zim unbound the loose knot that had been tying it closed and turned it inside out. Whatever the invader might have been expecting it wasn't five fuzzy forms plopping to the ground. Both servant and master stared at the sight unblinking, though one was slowly comprehending.

"**AAAIIIEEEEEE**" the dysfunctional SIR unit suddenly burst into tears. "Kitties are _**DEAD**_!!!" And with no more warning Gir took off crashing through the bushes, wailing the whole way.

Zim continued to stare, unbelieving, at what he was seeing. Five soggy orange and grey earth felines were laying, unmoving, where they'd landed. They were so _tiny_. A sudden burst of anger overtook him. _Who did that human think he was?! _Zim was on his knees before he realized it, picking up one of the tiny forms.

"Zim commands you to live." He shook the silent form, having no actual idea how to resuscitate the little creature. He then lowered a lekku to the kitten's belly. Ignoring the slight sting from the water he waited to hear the telltale sign of the heart organ...

Nothing.

He placed the little body down and picked up a second.

Nothing again.

By the time he'd picked up the last kitten he was inexplicably furious. _Just because they were small didn't mean that they were worthless!! Just because they were... unwanted didn't give anyone the right to toss them away and try to forget they existed!! _But as he prodded the final one with his lekku he was startled to feel a sluggish pattern beating out a sign of life. Still unsure what to actually do to _help _the kitten, Zim quickly gathered the others back into the sack and dashed in the direction of the only human he could think of to help him.

The Irken burst through the front door of him nemesis' home like he owned the place and was ascending the stairs before the Gaz could even comment on his presence. Zim had just topped the stairs when Dib emerged from his room to investigate the noise.

"Zim! What are you doing h-" an alien shoving him back through his door cut him off mid rant.

"You are going to help Zim or I'll kill you and every single one of you _disgusting _humans starting tonight." The apocalyptic glint in his eyes brooked no arguments from the teen. Zim carefully set the bag down and gently lifted the remaining kitten from the crook of his neck where he'd shifted it to break the door in. The slight burns to his skin were ignored and he placed the tiny, barely breathing, form on Dib's bed. "Fix it."


	3. 43 – Magnetic

**#43 – Magnetic**

Disclaimer: Nothing that anyone recognizes belongs to me. I'll claim the plots though, they're mine.  
Rated: PG  
Summery: 50 one-shots. One character: Zim

* * *

All he needed was an opportunity. So he waited. He'd gotten good at being patient after all these years but the time for waiting was nearly over. Because he now had the tool necessary for his plan to end the chase once and for all.

As the bell releasing the class from calculus rang Dib stole a glance at Zim. The subject of his scrutiny was rising from his seat slowly as the rest of the class rushed out of the room. Trailing Zim's progress out the door with his eyes, he quickly gathered his notebooks together and hastened to follow.

Zim hadn't gotten far. As Dib stalked his foe to their next class he noted the way the alien skirted past the main portion of the hall traffic by hugging the wall as well as the annoyingly slow speed of his progress.

"What's the matter Zim? Forget to recharge your batteries last night?" he taunted. Not giving him time to come up with a comeback, Dib elbowed his way past Zim and was about to rush toward the Tech Science classroom when an unexpected sound made him come to a halt. The unmistakable sound of a body hitting concrete. Looking back he barked out a laugh at the sight of his green nemesis picking himself up off of the floor. Several other snickers followed from around the hall and the last thing Dib saw before continuing toward his destination was the withering look Zim shot him.

* * *

"-which is why the predestination paradox will overturn any dangers to actual human time travel."

_'Ugg. And these same people think that __**I'M**__ crazy for believing in aliens. That theory was never anything but a clever way to explain plot-holes in time travel movies' _Dib spent the entire class period half observing Zim and half listening to his classmates give their pre-science fair presentations. Everything from designs for a hamster powered perpetual energy machine to the impossibility of machine assisted immortality had been covered by his peers and Dib wanted to bash his head against the wall. It was times like this that made him wonder if his people were too stupid to be saved from annihilation. But it was his turn to present so he pushed such thoughts away and gathered his paperwork. This was his moment...

"Are we REALLY going to have to sit through another hour long lecture about how Dib thinks his boyfriend is from the moon again?" Jessica asked the teacher in the most innocent voice the girl could muster. The rest of the class broke into giggles.

_'Stupid bitch' _Dib hissed internally as he pulled something from deep within the pockets of his coat. He'd cleared it with the teacher ahead of time but the rest of the class had no idea that the small blaster he'd just set on the table in front of him was part of his project. Dead silence rang through the room as the eyes of each and every student widened fearfully.

"Actually, today we're going to talk about E.M.P." Dib answered in a dangerous tone. The shocked expressions of his classmates didn't falter. "Now for those of you present today that don't know, E.M.P. stands for Electro Magnetic Pulse. Scientists have been studying its effects and causes since the early days of air burst nuclear weapons. Does anyone here know what E.M.P. does?" The paranormalist slowly scanned the room before allowing his eyes to rest on his enemy's expression of confusion. Not taking his eyes off of Zim, Dib continued. "E.M.P. fries circuit boards, electrical conductors, microchips... In the simplest of terms, E.M.P. destroys the computer brains of anything within its range. This," he motioned to the blaster lying on the desk, "... is a working prototype of an E.M.P. blaster that I've been tinkering with for the past few years. This small gun will emit a pulse strong enough to destroy all electronics within a 3 foot radius. Today will be its first public demonstration."

He paused, soaking in his foe's sudden look of abject horror as he picked up the weapon. "So, who'd like to be my assistant?"


	4. 05 – Survival

**#5 - Survival**

Disclaimer: Nothing that anyone recognizes belongs to me. I'll claim the plots though, they're mine.  
Rated: PG  
Summery: 50 one-shots. One character: Zim  
Notes: - I was inspired to do this particular drabble by a picture I found today. Please check it out.  
h t t p : / / x x j a n e - z e e x x . d e v i a n t a r t . c o m / a r t / I Z - T i l l - t h e - e n d - 5 8 1 6 1 0 3 4 (minus all those spaces)  


* * *

The peace that usually enveloped the neighborhood's streets at midnight was interrupted as a green form suddenly burst forth from the front door of the home with the electrified perimeter fence...

Naked as the day he'd been welcomed to life and significantly more damaged, Zim hurled himself into a desperate sprint away from the home and in the direction of a wooded park only blocks away. The strange trail of smoke and the odd footprints in the snow would be easy indicators for his pursuer to track so he needed to put as much distance between himself and his enemy as possible.

**"Where do you think you're running _Zim_!? YOU'VE GOT NOWHERE TO GO!"**

The shout behind him indicated that Zim would not have as strong of a head-start as he'd needed, but still the Irken ran as best as he could on the slippery, iced over road. Each step he took was accompanied by a jolt of pain as feet that hadn't touched any surface other than their boot souls in many, many years now slapped against the acidic snow. Every cracked rib, every contusion, every scrape he'd received during his struggle for freedom pulsed and ached as he ran.

**"You're only delaying the inevitable!"**

Too close. He was loosing ground. Zim choked down an anguished cry as he again attempted to access any of the defensive functions of his smoldering pak. He'd been left with nothing. No weapons, no spider legs, no disguise... Nothing but a pulsing from his pak that could only mean one thing. His life support systems were in critical condition. Whatever the human had been doing, digging around in his life source, he'd damaged something important.

He could hear the raged breathing and crunching snow behind him now. He'd been too slow, and now his enemy was almost upon him. He was injured and weak. This was a fight he couldn't win. Resolutely, Zim allowed the calculating part of his mind to shut down and in its place the more animalistic, basic survival portion took full control.

_"It's over Zim... You've lost."_

The moment the words were uttered the Irken jerked to a stop, the twin talons on his feet digging for purchase, allowing him to come to a halt as his opponent flew past him. In the moments it took the human to turn and reorient, Zim adopted a fighting stance. His claws, normally retracted and gloved, now lengthened slightly and tensed for battle. The talons he had for toes twitched in anticipation and he bared his sharp, zipper-like teeth.

"You can't win this Zim." There was a trace of uncertainty in Dib's voice that hadn't been present before though. He sensed that he was no longer fighting the little alien he was so familiar with. He was now fighting a wild animal.


	5. 01 – Endings

**#01 – Endings**

Disclaimer: Nothing that anyone recognizes belongs to me. I'll claim the plots though, they're mine.  
Rated: G  
Summery: 50 one-shots. One character: Zim  
Notes: This drabble takes place during the comic that Jhonen drew for Nickelodeon Magazine that gave Invader Zim an "ending." You'll want to see that if you haven't already to put this into proper perspective. You can find the comic here: w w w . r o o m w I t h a m o o s e . c o m / c l o s e t / (minus all those spaces)

* * *

"Hey, Dib! Wanna go with me into outer space? We can drink space sodas and ride giant alien bunnies!" Zim was smiling.

"Leave Earth? But...my fellow humans!! The robots!! Um....bunnies?"It was the expression on Zim's face that caused the uncertainty about what should have been Dib's obvious decision. He'd seen a lot of different expressions pass over the invader's face during the 2 years he'd known him, but nothing came close to the genuine look of joy and excitement that it held at that moment.

"Yep. There's a whole planet called Lapinwok that's full of space bunnies. And they love giving visitors rides around the planet. I've been there once or twice."

"But, you just conquered Earth!" Dib was having a hard time grasping what exactly was happening. "Just a minute ago you had a ruling hat and everything! Why would you leave when you've just won?"

The look of utter joy never left the alien's face, though he did cock his lekku and blink at the question. "Because I _**can **_leave now Dib-human" Zim replied as if talking to a particularly slow person. "I finished my assignment and now I'm free to go. I'll still have to contact my Tallest of course, to let them know that this pitiful planet is now theirs, but after that I'm going to retire as a legend and then travel." Zim practically purred with excitement at the prospect.

"And what about Earth?"

"Hmm? Oh, it's far too far out of the way to really serve any type of useful purpose. It's possible that the Empire will send exiles out here as a punishment in the future, or something" the Irken commented offhandedly.

"So... you're leaving?"

"Yep"

"And you want me to come with you?"

"Yep"

"....why?"

"Because while you are annoying, inferior, smelly, and the mere sight of you sometimes makes me slightly nauseous... you single-handedly stood against me, and at times I'll admit that I thought you might succeed against me. That alone makes you freakish, does it not?! I can't very well leave you here with _these" _he motioned to the throng of humanity who still stood all around them, holding signs proclaiming their love of their new overlord. "Besides, you might... plot against me if I left you here alone. So you've got to come with me so that I can... subjugate you to my will!"

Dib blinked at the Irken. Then he turned again to the crowd and noted that they were still smiling at their new ruler, some drooling, but none comprehending a thing that was going on.

"So what do you say Dib-stink?"

"Sure Zim." The boy couldn't help but smile. And it'd been a long, long time since he'd last smiled. "When do we leave?"


	6. 28 – Wish

**#28 – Wish**

Disclaimer: Nothing that anyone recognizes belongs to me. I'll claim the plots though, they're mine.  
Rated: G  
Summery: 50 one-shots. One character: Zim  
Notes: A short and almost pointless little crossover with Dragonball Z

* * *

Zim examined the amazing orb he held. It was rather small, no larger than an earth apple, round, and it shined a bit in the sunlight. The ball was orange and four yellow stars shimmered upon its surface. It was hard to believe the power that it could unleash. Well, it and its six brethren. All he needed to do was convince the warrior in front of him to let him have this last one.

"Now, you're sure that you aren't going to do anything evil with the dragonballs right?" The man who stood before Zim was reluctant to just hand the four-star ball over to a stranger. Especially since it held such a sentimental attachment to him. "No offense, it's just these things have a habit of attracting the wrong sort of people."

Zim looked the man, Goku he'd called himself, wearily in the eye. "I just want to go home."

"Yeah, you're a little too green to be from Earth. So where _are_ you from?"

Though every instinct he had screamed at him not to respond, the Irken did. "Irk. I was sent here many years ago, on what I thought was a mission to take over the planet. But I found out later that it was all a lie. I've been exiled here. It's been too long... I just... I just want to go home."

Goku nodded in sympathy. "Well you don't really need the dragonballs if it's a matter of travel. Bulma could make you up a spaceship in no ti-"

"It's not that!" Zim shrieked. At the shocked look on the man's face Zim deflated. "Sorry. It's not that I can't _get_ home. It's that I'm not _allowed_ home. The only way I can return is if I'm tall enough to override the Tallests' orders of banishment. I need to be the Tallest"

"How long have you been here?"

"One hundred and sixty of your Earth years."

"That's horrible!"

Zim looked away. He didn't like the sympathy.

"Well Zim, as long as you promise not to hurt people with whatever power you'll gain at home... you can use my dragonball to summon Shenron for your wish."


	7. 39 – Raw

**Disclaimer:** Nothing that anyone recognizes belongs to me. I'll claim the plots though, they're mine.  
**Rated:** G  
**Summery:** 50 one-shots. One character: Zim

* * *

**#39 – Raw**

"So that's fish?" Zim eyed the strange little roll skeptically as Dib popped it into his mouth.

The human paused in chewing the Otoro sushi only long enough to reply. "Yep."

"And it's raw?"

"Uh-huh."

"But I thought that you humans only ate things that have been deep-fried first."


	8. 12 – Epiphany

**#12 – Epiphany**

**Disclaimer: **Nothing that anyone recognizes belongs to me. I'll claim the plots though, they're mine.  
**Rating: G  
Notes: **50 one-shots. All focused around one character: Zim

* * *

It was an epiphany… or at the very least, one of those moments where one slaps themselves on the forehead with the heel of their palm and utters '_why didn't I see it sooner_' under their breath.

Though he'd never realized it before that very moment, the most important thing Dib had learned thus far about his enemy in the 14 months since Zim had landed on Earth was something so obvious that even his classmates could see it. It was a fact that was thrown in his face nearly every day since the alien's arrival, but he'd completely overlooked its importance. But now, thanks to the epiphany (and therefore to the rock that collided with the back of his skull that triggered said epiphany), he had the key to stopping Zim. Or at least slowing his evil to a crawl.

He barked out a laugh so Zim-like in nature that under normal circumstances he would have checked himself over to be sure that the Irken's pak hadn't somehow attached itself to him again. It certainly captured the attention of the group of schoolyard children still giggling over the original throwing of the rock. A few students with particularly strong survival instincts took a precautionary step toward the safety of the waiting skool bus in anticipation of a possible rabid attack of insanity from the scythe-haired boy. The rest of them simply quirked an eyebrow at Dib's strange outburst and moved on to discuss weekend plans amongst themselves. So involved was Dib in the midst of his revelation, that he didn't take any notice of the reactions of his classmates or indeed that his burst of laughter had been anything other than internal.

It was so simple…  
Zim liked attention.

Zim wanted attention, craved attention, _needed_ attention. The alien seemed to be almost fueled by the attention he gathered from anyone and everyone around him. He constantly spoke his every opinion out loud and climbed atop tables and buildings to scream reminders to others that '_I AM ZIM!_'. His plans often seemed to play off of what was capturing people's interest at the moment, or feature a center stage performance from the alien himself, self complimenting the whole time. And without attention he seemed to petter out like a car running out of gas. Zim seemed to quickly give up on ideas if no one noticed what he was doing, and some of his most pathetic attempts seemed to stem from simply trying to attract some attention rather than actual ideals of conquest.

And who was the main culprit of fueling Zim's constant need for attention, and therefore his plots to destroy humanity by proxy? Dib himself. This conclusion was a bitter pill to swallow for a moment, but his thoughts quickly turned to his sister. Gaz knew what Zim was, and the Irken himself knew that she knew. Yet she chose to ignore Zim for the most part, and he seemed to overlook her very existence right back. He'd never cooked up strange DNA twisting tack of doom to mutate _her_ after all…

Was the solution really so simple? Could ignoring Zim really be the answer he'd been looking for?

Perhaps not a final solution, he reasoned with himself, but an excellent way to buy himself time. If he could get even a few weeks of uninterrupted time to work with the databases in Tak's ship (now cooperative after Gaz knocked some sense into the thing) he might be able to uncover a wealth of information about Zim, his home planet, his people... Any given tidbit he learned could bring him one step closer to ending the alien's seemingly perpetual source of miraculous luck and bring about his downfall once and for all.


End file.
